All posts for the month July, 2017

Whether you support a boycott against Israel or not this is a slippery slope to head down.

Trump has repeatedly railed about making it easier to sue people who exercise their free speech right against him and his administration, the passage of a bill such as this would make it incrementally easier to criminalize other protests and boycotts.

If Trump had his way the media would only publish handouts from his administration and the entire population would spend their day sucking up to him in the same manner his cabinet and staff members do.

When it comes to a draconian approach nothing is off the table for this current administration and makes me wonder if Trump’s supporters are tired of “winning” yet as he and they walk around with a big L plastered on their forehead?

There’s little that has a shock value anymore when it comes to the conservative agenda but for members of a party that insists it all about individual rights and liberalism to sign onto a piece of legislation like this it should be something of wake up for those who like their conservative counterparts believe party allegiance trumps all other considerations.

Liberals should take note this is a bipartisan effort and point their fingers at both sides of aisle if it’s really about the values they express.

I’ve called on conservatives to defend the positions their elected officials take on more than one occasion, so far none have perceived any wisdom or talking point in doing so that could possibly advance or defend their case.

Hope springs eternal though as the infighting, intrigues, and total dysfunction of this administration exacts a toll so once again I issue the same invitation, this time related to the below links and the pervasive conservative attitude that issues involving women like pre and post natal care, birth control, equal pay and access aren’t worthy of consideration.

So here’s a question for conservatives – if a conservative woman were to be raped and become pregnant what are the implications, would you say that she elected to become pregnant inspite of being raped?

Did she just “have a glass of wine” and chose to “relax”?

Don’t be timid now, step up – if you believe something you should say so, likewise if you don’t, and if you don’t then you need to take a long look at such gems of wisdom, those voicing the opinion and call it what it is – bullshit.

I would suggest taking note of the recommended video in the first link re wage discrepancies in the Trump administration as opposed to those in previous administrations which during Obama’s tenure had been reduced to eleven percent.

Now I fully understand it’s easy to be dismissive of opinions and facts presented on this blog, there may even be a perceived efficacy in doing so, some sanctuary of silence – but it’s much more difficult to dismiss the reality, and that head in the sand ostrich approach doesn’t work.

Was working on a roof today without a cloud in the sky which is always kind of special when it’s the middle of summer and you get to bake and was thinking about the previous blog that carried a little heat of it’s own.

So maybe it’s appropriate to blog about peppers.

I’ ve never met a pepper I didn’t like whether sweet like the ones pictured above or jalapeños and habaneros.

Especially when they are the product of a garden.

Addendum:

I think it’s a special thing to take your shoes and shirt off and walk through the woods – to feel the land beneath your feet and the breeze and leaves brushing against you.

Special also to put your hands in the earth to plant or harvest – an understanding comes of these things, an understanding that as a human being we aren’t necessarily all we imagine ourselves to be, that there is more to our existence than our personal understanding or belief in who we think we are as an individual.

I read an article recently about Israeli Kibbutzes, crime and discord are essentially unheard of and I wonder if this is due to being agricultural communities where all are involved in the planting and harvesting?

It made me think of another agrarian people, the Hopi, who I think of as the spiritual gatekeepers of the nations and whose history is one of being peaceful and community oriented in their agricultural endeavors.

I have always believed that as the disconnect between the land and people increases so too the problems and discord – perhaps even a genetic mutation over time that lessens the bond causing many to only hear a faint echo of the call that once was when they visit a national park or out hiking.

I believe the land is our mother, a mother always pregnant and in the process of giving birth to new life.

A mother in distress as the numbers of those who hear her voice and respond dwindles.

What they shared in common were two things above all else – the color of their skin being dark and oppression.

The nations have had great leaders but not a one among them was capable of achieving a comparable independence – that in part was the result of centuries of war, being so out gunned and out manned leading to such a reduction in numbers that by the dawn of the twentieth century we had not only been rounded up and confined to gulags but the combined population of our nations had been reduced to roughly two hundred and fifty thousand men, women, and children in a nation whose population numbered in the tens of millions.

Sixty million people alone had immigrated to the U.S. in the 18th and 19th centuries, to say we were being numerically overwhelmed is an understatement as some of our nations were driven to extinction.

Armies march on their stomachs, they are sustained by resources, cut off the supply by butchering tens of millions of buffalo and the impact is and was predictable.

Introduce biological weapons in the form of smallpox and other diseases and they have the same effect as a modern day drone – an unknown invisible adversary you can neither see nor are equipped to contend with.

Place a bounty on the scalps of men, even women and children adding additional foes to vie with.

Rape and pillage, make tobacco pouches out women’s breast as part of a psychological warfare to instill fear.

Steal our children and send them to schools to beat and sexually abuse as part of the process of “killing the ndn to save the man” as they are being “educated” and told of the undying love of some distant god who will cast you into a lake of burning fire in a New York minute if you don’t believe and surrender all you have ever known, who you are, and who you will ever be in the context of the forced disruption of your upbringing.

There’s a saying that money talks and bullshit walks but an additional saying should be with enough money bullshit not only walks but capable of running and controlling legislation.

It’s no secret money doesn’t flow in and out of the coffers of the poor or working class and I believe on some level there is a conscious design to that in that it insures a dependent work force leading to a competition for available jobs, a competition that will insure low wages and a lack of benefits.

Another example would be farmers who are up to their neck in debt struggling to keep up with corporate owned commercial farms – they are systematically being pushed out in the pursuit of greed and influence just as mom and pop neighborhood grocery or hardware stores are.

Consider this, retail prices are influenced by the cost of distribution – if the cost of distribution goes up as in fuel cost then retail prices follow suite.

Conversely if distribution related to fuel cost goes down then retail prices should as well, but that hasn’t been the case has it?

Additionally we are told a free market economy inspires competition, a competition that results in lower prices so there’s nothing to worry about and the consumer is getting a great deal.

Really? Someone want to provide an example?

How much money is enough? If you ask corporate moguls, Wall Street, and the banking industry the answer is there is never enough because it’s about more than money, it’s about the power and influence that accompany it.

A concept that surely lends itself to the adage that power corrupts.

Should the benefits of productivity and wealth trickle down to elevate the standard of living and overall well being of a nations citizens or should it “trickle up” to further enrich a select few and insure the status quo?

Any economist who isn’t squarely in the pocket of conservatives and the one percenters will tell you that wages have not kept pace with either productivity or profit – in fact if not mistaken I believe the metric is wages are something like thirty years behind.

Instead of wages keeping pace credit became the substitute turning workers into little more than indentured servants trying to keep their head above water in the midst of deciding which bill to pay as opposed to meals, clothing, whether to visit a doctor or not or to fill a prescription as corporations and the wealthy were further enriched and the chasm between the haves and have nots grew steadily more egregious.

Should jobs be exported out to cheap foreign labor markets so the profit margin can be increased – is that what the “Dream” is about or is it a global extension of corporate greed seeking to take advantage of impoverished people?

If the working class is exploited in this country how much more will workers in other countries be?

And to what end, where will the indifference stop?

Will it end with those who stand in line for the latest iPhone, tech gadget, or the fall line of foreign made shoes and fashion from Ivanka, or Trump construction projects using imported steel and materials while railing about creating jobs and making America Great?

Assuming the reader is of the working class is that what you believe it is about?

The working class is the backbone of this or any other nation, nothing takes place without them.

They are the heroes – not Gates, Soros, Buffet, the Kochs, or any other ivory tower residents.

When people wake up to that simple fact and accept the reality forgoing cults of personality and blind party allegiance then maybe a Gandhi, King, Mandela, or someone from within this country whether black, red, yellow, white, or brown will emerge and the bullshit of money controlling every aspect of government will become a thing of the past.

Bottom line is Trump ain’t that person, he is the very antithesis, and for his supporters I suggest they look inside that make America great hat or shirt they bought and so proudly wear thinking it makes them a patriot, take note of the label where it was made, and then either get real or shut the hell up about jobs, the economy, and making the country great again.

What the industrialized nations should be doing is helping other countries to elevate themselves and become capable of providing good decent jobs to their people rather than exploiting the poverty and need – they should do so without profit or influence being the motivation.

When a people, any people, have the ability to earn a decent living it can in many ways change attitudes and lead to a broader acceptance of diversity – it can in fact lead to a societal awakening where intolerance becomes more the exception than the norm.

All people everywhere deserve physical, spiritual, and economic freedom.

And so another rant sandwiched inbetween posts of photos some may agree with and some may not, but I have never predicated my beliefs or willingness to speak them based upon a premise that life is one big popularity contest, nor do I believe anyone should.

If I believe it I’m going to speak it, if shown to be wrong I’ll say so with the same level of conviction.

We’ve been experiencing problems in the garden, nothing major just a missing ear of corn here or there, evidence of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and other edibles having been plucked or half eaten and left on the vine.

A little confusing until we remembered this is the time of year when gnomes begin laying in winter stores – so we began keeping an eye out for their activities and finally caught this one which we took inside for a few moments in the hopes of establishing a mutually beneficial rapport.

Don’t be fooled by the rigid appearance, they often do this as a subterfuge, kind of the gnome version of playing opossum.

A subterfuge they will maintain for extended periods of time when being observed.

You’ve probably seen them in gardens or flower beds after having assumed this posture and thought they were statues, but turn your back for a moment and they’re gone just as this one was – fortunately we were able to take a photo or two.

We’ve elected not to reveal the location to avoid an army of gnome hunters with nets descending on the area.

Here’s something to consider as the noose continues to tighten around this administration – since the appointment of Scaramucci the denigrating of AG Jeff Sessions has reached new levels and I’m convinced he is on his way out.

The justice in this if true is that Sessions will not only lose his job but will not be able to reclaim his Senate seat – the price to pay for selling out and supporting an egomaniacal lying buffoon.

At the core of this is Sessions recusing himself from the investigation related to Russia – ergo he can’t effectively obstruct it, he can’t “protect” the president as Trump seems to believe he should.

Sessions recusal ultimately paved the way for the appointment of former FBI DirectorRobert Mueller as a special prosecutor – a man who was overwhelming praised and approved during his confirmation hearing for head of the FBI by both parties.

Mueller has let it be known he is fully empowered to investigate not only Trump’s tax records and business dealings but those of his family and fully intends to do just that.

A potential exists in this for all hell to break loose, to clearly expose Trump – so what to do?

First off get rid of Sessions and appoint a new AG who won’t be restricted by recusal and willing to play ball with Trump.

A new AG that will pick up the cudgel and attack Mueller, an attack meant to either marginalize Mueller’s investigation or lead to his firing.

The Mooch fits the bill for a Trump flunky to a T, he’s a shameless fan boy, just as it would be reasonable to assume any new AG would also be.